Appleberry(Completed)

Ch. 2: The New House

The house we moved to, was a house passed down through generations on my dad's father's side of the family. It was the house my dad had grown up in. It was old. So old, the paint on the outside was chipping, the floors made noises when you walked, and the air smelt of mold.
The last time I remember being in the house was when I was four years old. Dad's mother had passed away. So, we all took the long trip to come so dad could set up the funeral arrangements. It was hard for dad, he was close to his mom, my grandmother. I meet her a couple of times when I was a baby. I never got the chance of meeting my grandfather, he had passed away when dad was still at university. Mom had told us that he would have loved us girls and we would be spoiled to no end.
Here we were, living in an old but new home. It smelt of mold and musk. Dad said we would have to paint the outside and then fix up a couple of things on the inside. Other than that, it was in good condition to live in. He even said that when he died, Frankie and I would get to choose who kept the house. Knowing Frankie, she would want to share it. Which I was fine with that.
...
"Hey dad, where did you put my box of books?" Dad was in the study room, setting up his office.
He turned to me with a confused looked. "You know the box marked books?"
"Oh, I thought they were Frankie's. I put them in her room." He looked form me back to hanging up one of his vintage pictures.
I went upstairs to Frankie's room. "Hey Franks, did dad put my box of books in here?"
She took her headphones off. "Yeah, I already put them in your room. I have no clue why he would put them in my room. He does know you are the one with the reading problem, right?"
I smiled. "I know, he put your art supplies in my room earlier too."
She shook her head. "Will he ever learn?"
"I'm not sure. He isn't as observative as mom was." I shrugged.
Frankie slung her legs over the side of the bed sitting up. "You think he is going to be okay here, Sloane?"
I went and took a seat beside her. "I don't know Franks. I wish I did. But I don't."
Frankie hung her head. I put an arm around her shoulders. "We've got each other. I promise. Mom would want us to look after dad. It's just going to take time."
She wrapped her arms around my waist. "I know. Just sucks."
I rested my chin on top of her head. I had been taking care of things for two years. I had gone to the parent and teacher conferences for Frankie. I cooked, cleaned, done the clothes, and anything else that needed to be done.
Dad kept busy with work, so he was never home. He would hand me the money to pay bills and get what we needed. That was it. He wouldn't even look at us hardly for two years. It pained him, we looked so much like mom, he couldn't stand it. He still barely looked at us.
"Come on, why don't we go make dinner?" I rubbed Frankie's arm.
"Okay, but we have to go to the store. Dad forgot to get milk for the gravy earlier." Frankie grabbed her jacket and went downstairs.
I slowly followed her down. I went to the study. "Dad, Frankie and I are going to get the milk you forgot. We need a couple of dollars."
Without hesitation, dad reached for his wallet. He pulled out fifty. "That should be enough, right?"
"Yeah, I could buy like twenty gallons of milk." I rolled my eyes.
He wasn't paying any attention. He was eyeing the picture he had hung up. He went over and straightened it. Then went to the desk to get another to hang.
If Appleberry was the cure to his depression, I can't wait to see it. He had been like this and worse since mom's death. I was about to lose it. But with Frankie's help, I kept grounded. Frankie was the peace maker. I was stubborn and wanted to shake him to get a grip.
Frankie and I had always been close. We were more like twins. We knew when the other needed each other. We knew if one of us got hurt. There were no secrets between us. After mom passed away, we got even closer.
"What are you thinking about, Sloane?" Frankie turned the music down.
I looked over at her then back to the road. "Mom."
She smiled. "Mom."
Franks looked out the window. "She hated this place. I mean she loved dad's parents. But she hated this place. She said that the families here seemed so snobby and stuffy. Like they all had something to hide."
I looked over at her confused. "What? When did you talk to mom about Appleberry?"
She shrugged. "I was curious to what it was like. I remember hearing her and dad talking about it one day. So, I asked her. That's what she told me."
"Did she tell you anything else?" I pulled into the grocery store parking lot.
I turned off the truck. "No. Just that the place seemed weird."
Frankie looked around. "I mean have you seen the place Sloane? It looks like a gothic town from some gothic tale."
We got out to go into the store. "Maybe they have vampires, werewolves, and witches. Oh, my."
She gave a solemn look. "Don't joke about that. You don't know what kind of things are out there."
"Oh, come on Franks. You really don't believe in that stuff." I rolled my eyes.
Something I probably shouldn't have done. I ran into someone. "I am so sorry."
Their groceries fell to the ground. "No, I've got it."
I watched him pick up the groceries. "What happened here Phoenix?"
A bubbly red head came bouncing out of the store. "Nothing."
He finished picking up the groceries and walked off. I yelled after him. "I am sorry, again."
I turned back around to the bubbly red head. "Oh, don't pay Phoenix any mind. He is just a grump."
I smiled at her. She stuck her hand out. "I am Gwendolyn Moon Appleberry. That was my brother Phoenix Arlo Appleberry."
I took her hand and shook it. "I'm Sloane and this is my sister Frankie."
Gwendolyn smiled, all teeth. "Welcome to Appleberry."
She skipped off to the luxurious car waiting for her. Once she was in the car, I could see her brother and her in an argument. He really did seem like a grump.
"Don't pay attention to Ms. Bubbles and Mr. Grump." I looked over to a guy leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
"Who are you?" My eyebrows furrowed.
He came over sticking his hand out to me. "I am Zeke Rigby Alderman."
"Nice to meet you Zeke.' Frankie hit my arm with hers, shaking his hand.
He took Frankie's hand. "Who might you be?"
Frankie smiled. "I am Frankie and this weirdo is my sister Sloane. We just moved here."
His face went to surprise. "You are the Ashby's. Your family along with a few others are legends in these parts. Well, more like there have been folk and horror stories passed through the vines."
I crossed my arms. "What do you mean?"
He gave me a confused look. "You don't know? The Ashby's and the Appleberry's are the oldest families to live here in Appleberry. I'm not sure why it is named Appleberry, since the Ashby's were here before they Appleberry's. But that's the name of this small county."
"I think the ladies have had enough information for one night, don't you think Zeke?" A hippy looking girl came up bumping into him.
She waved. "Hey, I'm Bodhi."
"Hey Bodhi. I'm Sloane and this is my sister Frankie." I pointed to Franks.
Frankie waved. "I think we need to get going Sloane."
I shook my head to clear it. "Yeah, our dad is probably worried. We were just coming to get milk."
Zeke smirked. "So, puppies do like milk."
I stopped turning back to him. Bodhi hit his arm. "What?"
Bodhi gave me a reassuring smile. "It was nothing. Just him being an idiot. It was nice to meet you both."
She took Zeke by the arm, scurrying off. Mom was right, the small town was weird. No wonder we only came when we had to. Which, wasn't very much. Dad was the only one to ever really come if his mom needed anything. Other than that, we never even gave the small town any mind.